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Abstract areospace rules
RULES onesided areospace boils down to each areospace with a safethrust 1-9 every other turn 10+ every thrid turn ABSTRACT GROUND SUPPORT Initiative In Abstract Ground Support rules, aerospace units (including fi ghter squadrons) use the standard rules for Initiative and movement order. During an Initiative Phase, aerospace units are simply part of a player’s force and so the controlling player may decide when and how to move each aerospace unit, alongside his ground units. Movement Each region on the Radar Map represents a large, abstract area. This allows units on the Radar Map to move between regions according to their Safe Thrust values (rather than standard movement rules). Units with a current Safe Thrust of less than 10 may move one zone per turn. Units with a current Safe Thrust of 10 or higher can move two zones per turn. A unit must move at least one zone per turn and each move must be between adjacent zones (unless engaged in combat; see Abstract Air-to-Air Combat). The Inner Ring is adjacent playing area. Aerospace units leaving the ground playing area are placed in the Central Zone of the Radar Map. Units moving outward from the Outer Ring are removed from play and cannot reenter the game for the remainder of the scenario. Attacks Units making ground attacks must be assigned a flight line, which is a line of hexes over the ground playing area (air-to-Ground Fire,) The first hex of this flight line must be on the playing area edge corresponding to the direction from which the unit approached the Central Zone from the Inner Ring. Aerospace units may make a single pass over the battlefield, returning to the Inner Ring of the Radar Map at the end of the Combat Phase, provided they survive any antiaircraft fi re. Base To-Hit Number The base to-hit number for all air-to-ground attacks is equal to the attacking unit’s Gunnery Skill Rating (see Skills, p. 39). Modified To-Hit Number The modified to-hit number equals the base to-hit number plus the modifier for the specific airto- ground attack as noted on the Air-To-Ground Attack Modifiers Table. All other standard modifiers used in weapon attacks—such as those for target movement, terrain, Damage to the aerospace unit Attack Type Modifier Strafing +4* Striking +2‡ Bombing +2† *Aerospace units flying at Altitude 1 (NOE) also suff er a +2 to-hit modifier †Terrain and target movement modifiers (including the –4 modifier for an immobile target) do not apply to any type of bombing attack;, but suffer a to-hit modifier equal to their altitude (see Altitude-Bombing, p. 246). Strafing Units flying within three altitudes of the ground can make strafing attacks against ground targets. Lacking the precision of a striking attack, a strafing attack sprays a large area with weapons fire, making it less likely to hit a specific target but potentially damaging numerous targets. A unit making this type of attack chooses from one to five consecutive hexes along the attack path. These hexes must lie in a straight line. The unit may fire one, some or all of its direct fire energy and pulse weapons when strafing. The player must roll for every target, hostile or friendly, in all of the chosen hexes. See Modified To-Hit Number, at left, to determine the target number for a strafing attack. The attacking player makes separate to-hit rolls for each weapon against each target. Apply weapon hits using the standard rules for the appropriate unit type. Use the column of the appropriate Hit Location Table that corresponds to the attack direction, based on the direction from which the fighter entered the target’s hex, rather than the fighter’s position at the end of the Movement Phase. Most strafing attacks must take into account only the terrain in the target’s hex. However, units flying at Altitude 1 (NOE) find it harder to establish a clear line of sight and so must also take into account the terrain in the hex adjacent to the target and along the flight path in the direction that the attacking unit entered the target’s hex. If the hex in front of the target is two or more levels higher than the level of the target unit, the target is in a dead zone and cannot be attacked. Striking An attacker flying at Altitude 5 or lower can make a precision strike on a single ground unit or ground hex (a building, woods and so on). The target must lie along the flight path. A strike attack reduces the attacker’s altitude by one. Units flying at Altitude 1 (NOE) cannot make strike attacks. The unit may fire one, some or all of its weapons at the target, except for bombs (which cannot be used in a striking attack). See Modified To-Hit Number, p. 243, to determine the target number for a striking attack. The attacker must make separate to-hit rolls for each weapon. Apply weapon hits using the standard rules for the appropriate unit type. Use the column of the appropriate Hit Location Table that corresponds to the attack direction, based on the direction from which the fighter entered the target’s hex, rather than its position at the end of the Movement Phase. Bombing Most fighters are equipped to carry bombs, though capacity varies depending on the unit’s size and engine power. Each unit can carry one bomb for every 5 tons of mass, but each increment of 5 bombs (or part thereof) carried reduces the unit’s Safe Thrust by 1. For example, a 20 ton unit can carry four bombs (20 ÷ 5), but doing so reduces its Safe Thrust by 1. A 30-ton unit can carry six bombs (30 ÷ 5), but reduces its Safe Thrust by 2. Recalculate Maximum Thrust based on the adjusted Safe Thrust; multiply the new Safe Thrust by 1.5, rounding up. A unit can make a bombing attack or a weapons attack in a single turn. Bombs can be delivered by dive-bombing or altitude-bombing. Dive-bombing is more accurate, but requires the attacker to lose altitude and exposes him to return fire. Altitude-bombing is less precise, but allows attacks against a strip of ground, much like a strafing run. See Modified To-Hit Number, p. 243, to determine the target number for a bombing attack. Dive-Bombing: A unit at Altitude 5 or lower can make a dive-bombing attack against a single hex on the flight path, though doing so requires the fighter to dive two altitudes. The fighter can drop one, some or all of its bombs in the attack. If the attack is successful, ll bombs explode in the designated hex. If the attack fails, the bombs scatter before exploding. To determine the direction of the scatter, roll 1D6 for each bomb dropped and consult the Dive-Bombing Scatter Diagram, below. Roll 1D6 again to determine the number of hexes by which the attack deviates from its target. The resulting hex becomes the impact hex. Altitude-Bombing: Altitude-bombing works similarly to strafing, llowing a fighter to attack a continuous row of hexes along the flight path. Altitude-bombing can attack up to ten hexes, but the fighter must drop at least one bomb and no more than two bombs in each hex. All targeted hexes must be adjacent. If the unit carries several types of bombs, the pilot chooses which are targeted at which hexes. Finally, a to-hit modifier is applied, which is equal to the Altitude of the aerospace unit. The player makes one to-hit roll for each hex targeted. If the roll succeeds, the bombs land in the designated hexes. If the roll fails, the bombs scatter before exploding. To determine the direction of the scatter, roll 1D6 for each bomb dropped and consult the Altitude-Bombing Scatter Diagram. Roll 1D6 again to determine the number of hexes by which the attack deviates from its target. The resulting hex becomes the impact hex. Area-Eff ect Weapons: All bombs are area-eff ect weapons (see Weapons and Equipment, p. 113). The various types of bombs available are described below. Players must designate the bomb types their fi ghters are carrying before play begins, writing their choices clearly on each fighter’s record sheet. Divide damage inflicted by bombs into 5-point Damage Value groupings. Targets in the impact hex take damage in the front or the back. Roll 1D6. On a result of 1–3, the attack hits the front; on a result of 4–6, it hits the back. Some munitions also attack units in surrounding hexes. Treat such attacks as originating in the impact hex when determining attack direction. • High Explosive (HE): Each HE bomb causes 10 points of damage to all units in the target hex. • Cluster: A cluster bomb infl icts 5 points of damage on targets in the impact hex and in the adjacent six hexes. • Laser-Guided (LG): Laser-guided bombs act exactly like HE bombs, except when targeted against a unit designated by a friendly TAG (see below). Against such units, apply a –2 to-hit modifier. • Rocket Launchers: Inner Sphere forces may carry rocket launchers on their wing pylons. One rocket launcher occupies the same space as one bomb. • TAG: Not a weapon in its own right, TAG (see p. 142) can be used to designate targets for weapons like laser-guided bombs or semi-guided LRMs. TAG units can be built into a unit’s fuselage in the same way as a weapon or carried as an external pod. A pod-mounted TAG occupies the same space as one bomb. To designate a target, the fighter must be at Altitude 5 or higher. The base to-hit number for the system is the warrior’s Gunnery Skill +2. The designating aerospace unit cannot make any other attacks while attempting to designate a target. AIR-TO-AIR ATTACKS Atmospheric combat uses the same rules as space encounters, with the following exceptions. Units at the same altitude can fi re at each other using the standard rules. Units at diff erent altitudes can fire at each other, but they add one hex to the range for each diff erent level of altitude. For example, two fighters are ten hexes apart. One is at Altitude 3 and the other is at Altitude 5. The effective distance between the two units is 12 hexes (10 + – 3). Units cannot aim into the area immediately above or below their own hexes. A diff erence in altitude creates a “dead zone” around each unit. If the attacker and target are one altitude apart, the target must be at least two hexes away (the attacker cannot fi re at a target in an adjacent hex). If the attacker and target are two altitudes apart, the target must be three hexes away, and so on. If units are within two altitudes of each other, use the appropriate column of the Hit Location Table (see p. 237)based on the attack direction. Otherwise, use the Above/ Below column. Aircraft flying at Altitude 1 (NOE) rely on their terrain following radar to hug the ground and constantly jink to make use of available terrain as cover. As a result, all units flying at Altitude 1 (NOE) suffer a +2 to-hit modifier when making attacks against air targets. Units engaged in ground-attack missions cannot easily dodge incoming attacks. Apply a –3 to-hit modifier for all attacks by airborne aerospace units against such targets. OmniFighters: Because of their superior integration of FCS and navigation computers, OmniFighters only suffer a +1 to-hit modifier for flying at Altitude 1 (NOE) and attacking air targets. Airborne Non-Aerospace Units Firing at Airborne Aerospace Units: Airborne non-aerospace units (VTOL and WiGE vehicles, for example) fi ring at airborne aerospace units use all the standard rules for ground units. However, if an airborne non-aerospace unit occupies the same hex as an airborne aerospace unit, it is considered to have a higher Initiative than any aerospace unit (even a fighter), and so is one hex back along the attack path of the aerospace unit for purposes of firing arcs and angle of attack (see Air-to-Air Attacks, p. 241). GROUND TO AIR ground unit firing at a areospace during pass +3 if noe +1 other wise if attacked range 0 +2 hexs per elevation (1-9) 10+ on high altitude map altitute map other wise range to pass line +2 hexs per elevation passline consist of 4hexs +4 hexs per volicity (usually safe thrust value) or edge to edge Angle of Attack Attack against aft +0 Attack against nose +1 Attack against side +2 Avionics damage +1 per crossed box Life support damage +1 per crossed box Atmospheric operations +2 Above safe thrust +1 DAMAGE TO AEROSPACE UNITS IN ATMOSPHERE A unit in atmosphere must make a Control roll in the End Phase of every turn in which it suff ers damage, using the modifiers shown on the Atmospheric Control Modifiers Table above. A unit that goes out-of-control on the low altitude map automatically loses 1D6 altitudes and may crash if this causes it to enter a hex with an altitude higher than its own (see Crashes, p. 81). ‡As noted under Weapons and Equipment, rapid-fi re weapons always fire at their maximum rate, and so players must check for jamming every time they fire these weapons (see p. 114). CONTROL ROLL TABLE Base Target Number: Piloting Skill Situation* Movement Hovering (spheroids) Exceed normal operational ceiling (conventional fighters, Airships and Fixed Wing Support Vehicles) Atmospheric re-entry Rolling more than once in a turn Using thrust in excess of current SI rating Unit with velocity over 2x Safe Thrust in a atmosphere hex Stalling Descending 3+ altitudes in a single turn Damage Avionics critical Control critical Sustaining damage while in atmosphere Modifiers Pilot/crew damage +1 per crossed box Avionics damage +1 per crossed box Life support damage +1 per crossed box Atmospheric operations +2 Above safe thrust +1 Above 2x Safe Thrust +1 per velocity point above 2x Safe Thrust +1 per 20 points of damage taken in round ABSTRACT AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT Two aerospace units ending a turn in the same region on the Radar Map may engage in combat if one or both choose. Both pilots make a Control Roll. Add half of a unit’s current Safe Thrust (round down) to the dice roll result for a successful Control Roll; add a quarter of a unit’s current Safe thrust (round down) to the dice roll result for a failed Control Roll. The player with the higher modified die roll result determines the range of the combat (if neither succeeds at their Control Rolls, the combat takes place at long range). If the modified die roll results of the fighters are the same, the fighter with the highest unmodified MoS decides the range. If the modified die roll results are the same and both unmodified MoS are the same, the combat takes place at medium range. If both players or neither made a successful Control Roll, each unit may use wing- and nosemounted weapons, with hits on their opponent rolled on the Nose column of the Aerospace Hit Location Table (see p. 237, TW). If one pilot succeeds and the other fails, the winner is tailing the other unit—the winner’s unit has managed to maneuver into the enemy unit’s rear arc. The tailing unit may use wing- and nose-mounted weapons, with hits on the opponent rolled on the Aft column of the Aerospace Hit Location Table (see p. 237, TW). The tailed unit is restricted to fi ring aft weapons and must roll for hits on the Nose column of the Aerospace Hit Location Table (see p. 237, TW). During the End Phase of a turn, the players can choose to continue or break off the engagement. If both choose to continue the battle, the units remain in the same region and begin by making Control Rolls to determine position (as described above). If both choose to end the engagement, their units are free to move according to the standard rules in the next turn. If one player chooses to continue the engagement and the other wishes to end it, both players make another Control Roll, reducing the target number by 2 for the tailing unit and increasing it by 2 for the tailed unit; as noted above, add half or quarter of the unit’s current Safe Thrust to the die roll result based upon whether the Control Roll is a success or failure. The pi lot with the higher modified die roll result decides if the engagement continues. In the case of a tie, the unit with the higher unmodified MoS decides if the engagement continues. If the unmodified MoS is a tie, the decision lies with the fighter that has the higher current Safe Thrust (if that too is tied, randomly determine a winner). If both sides fail, the engagement automatically breaks off . Movement: If a dogfight continues from one turn to the next, neither fighter will move out of the zone it occupies—an exception to the rule that a fighter must move at least one zone every turn, as noted under Movement (see p. 19). Multiple Fighter Engagements Where an abstract aerospace engagement involves numerousous fighters, players may wish to use the procedures outlined above, with the following modifications: • Group all fighters on each side into as many squadron formations as possible (see the Recommended Fighter Squadron Formation Table, p. 28); when a player determines to move an aerospace unit, he moves an entire formation (as opposed to a single fighter, as described above). For example, Player A is fielding a Free Rasalhague Republic force consisting of 9 fighters. As that faction fi elds 4 fighters to a squadron, Player A would fi eld three formations, two of 4 fighters each and one of 1 fighter. • Fighter formations fighting each other are dogfighting, and should use the rules above. • Make all Control Rolls using the best Piloting Skill Rating of a formation’s fighters, but adding 1 point to the rating per every two fighters after the first two. For example, in a fighter squadron of 6, the commander has a Piloting Skill Rating of 3. This is raised to 5 for the four additional fighters (1 point for each pair of fighters) beyond the first two. • All, some or none of the fighters in a formation may fi re in any attack. • Where the enemy target is a formation of two or more fighters, use the fighter squadron rules (see p. 27). • Fighters not involved in a dogfight but in the same zone may fi re into combat as if at long range. Determine the target of such attacks randomly from all the fighters involved in the dogfight (friend and foe).